#'spying' in quotation marks

[frozenartscapes]

I don't know why I was thinking about this but I got wondering about those silly little fandom things like what kind of dog would represent certain characters for Spy x Family, and like...

Loid and Anya are kind of obvious. Anya's something small and cute with stubby legs, like a chihuahua or a dachshund. Maybe a pomeranian. And Loid is one of those working dogs who can be highly trained but are also incredibly protective, like a German shepherd or a malinois.

But Yor...

If Yor and, by extension, Yuri are anything other than "husky/shepherd mixes" that were found abandoned on the side of the road by a well-meaning yet clueless individual who didn't know enough about dogs to realize they accidentally domesticated two wolf pups... Then I don't know what we're doing here

[kivaember]

it's maid day so here's 621 in a maid dress and rusty suffering

-

Every so often, Rusty would manage to convince Raven to "meet up" outside of sorties to "hang out".

The reason for the quotation marks there was that Raven didn't know that they met up to hang out. Rusty usually had to couch his requests in mission speak... and, admittedly, pay Raven afterwards to maintain the innocent deception. It was always a pittance, and Raven was under the impression that he was doing Rusty a favour by giving him a "buddy discount" (his words, not Rusty's), which made it seem like it was Raven manufacturing reasons to "meet up" by accepting clearly bogus missions for 100 COAM a piece-

Okay, this is getting complicated.

To simplify: they were both two very messed up guys who had no idea how to make friends normally, so Rusty did triple layers of subterfuge to hang out with the one person who was unrelated to the tangled hot mess that was his spy life on Rubicon, while Raven was unable to socialise outside of mission objectives and parameters.

They went on a lot of 'geographical surveys' together, is what he's saying.

It was enough to have the Vespers notice, but not exactly suspicious. From what Rusty had gleaned from Pater's sly jibes and Hawkin's poorly concealed smiles, they thought he and Raven were running off to secluded areas to have wild, passionate sex in each other's cockpits. Technically it was against company policy, but they were out on the frontiers. It was likely considered an acceptable misdemeanour to let Rusty blow off steam harmlessly - and a potential hook to sway Raven more towards an Arquebus bias.

Rusty didn't disabuse them of their assumption. It made things easier, really. He said 'I'm going on another geological survey with Raven, he requested my presence' and O'Keeffe would wave him off with 'okay just don't take all night again'. Snail would take one look at 'geological survey' and 'V.IV Rusty' and 'Raven' on the mission report and promptly lose interest - by now it was a short hand for 'V.IV is making a booty call'.

It let him take his time. He'd meet Raven, but then move on and spend a few hours elsewhere without needing to think of an excuse - because everyone would assume he was fucking Raven.

Honestly - he wished.

But no, their meetings were as chaste as things could be. They had scoped out a few good locations to meet - shielded from the wind, the snow, and allowing them to spend a few hours outside of their ACs - but they made sure to alternate them in a random pattern, just in case Balam or some enterprising independent mercenary got any ideas. Every time they met up, Rusty would bring what little he could for entertainment, a few bottles of smuggled Rubicon moonshine, and they would just... talk and chill.

...and then one meet up, Raven turned up in a dress.

-

The meeting spot they chose this time was an old yet mostly intact building situated in the shadow of a sky grid. The building was built of concrete and insulating material, the interior lukewarm compared to the frigid climes outside, and had likely been a school, once upon a time.

Rooms with desks and chairs, hallways with lockers, an old gym where the wooden floors had long since rotted and the ceiling half-caved in, and dark labratories where the chemical cabinets had been broken into, their contents long since emptied and leaving bare shelves and discoloured, empty glass jars.

It was one of their more favourite meeting spots, and Rusty had arrived first this frigid evening. He had parked STEEL HAZE outside the building, the AC sat in a low squat and partially concealed behind the multi-story building. Rusty had clambered out and trudged his way inside, makign for their usual meeting spot inside: the headmaster's office.

It was still relatively intact. An old, oaken desk that had withstood the ravages of time, a sofa where the springs had gone flat but wasn't moth-eaten, and a large window where the glass was frosted over but still intact. The carpet was stained, though, and the bookcases lining the wall were lacking books - moisture had gotten in here at some point, and the books had decayed into something mushy, but otherwise the room was serviceable for their meeting.

Rusty sat down on the sofa, resting his boots on the creaking coffee table, and stared out the window. The building sighed and creaked around him, the wind howling as it rattled the window, giving a sense of lonely isolation. Rusty just cracked open one of the moonshines he had brought with him, drinking straight from the bottle. He didn't like thinking about why Rubiconian settlements were so eerily abandoned.

He got through half the bottle by the time he heard the telltale growl and rumble of an arriving AC. His confirmation came when a data exchange request zipped to his implants, coming from Network ID: 04-23-621. Raven.

Rusty accepted it. There was no verbal communication or anything like that, and admittedly Raven was the first and only time he'd ever used his implants like this, but it was just an.. acknowledgement? Regardless, he accepted the request, Rusty felt a vague sort of 'okay', and the connection dropped as quickly as it was formed. Raven's way of saying 'hello', he supposed.

Made him wonder if there was a level of incompatibility between Old and New Gen. Rusty had heard Old Gen had a weird sort of 'telepathy' capability with each other, but no such thing existed with the New Gens. Rusty didn't know the science behind it, but Coral was well known for being able to store insane amounts of data and transporting it near-instantaneously across vast distances, whereas the 'Coral Substitute' used in New Gens could... not do that. A fact that the UEG was eternally sour over, after Arquebus had unveiled it with much fanfare.

(In fact, the 'Coral Substitute' was barely a substitute at all. The only thing it could do was successfully augment a human... to a fraction of what an Old Gen's performance was like, yes, but it was still something. The massive amount of energy, data storage, and quantum characteristics were still a work in progress)

In any case, the "telepathy" would've been useful to have, but ultimately Rusty was relieved. There were all kind of horror stories about Old Gens being susceptible to 'neural-hacks', and Rusty quite liked having complete control over his own mind and thoughts, thank you. It was the only thing he could claim to actually own in this capitalistic hellscape of a galaxy.

He continued sipping through his bottle of moonshine as he waited. It was quiet, Raven no doubt parking up STALKER beside STEEL HAZE and likely making his way up here. He was a slow walker - incredibly slow - so Rusty had all but finished the bottle by the time he heard footsteps shuffle towards the office.

Rusty felt loose and relaxed, pleasantly warm, and he slid his boots off the coffee table and set the empty bottle down on it just as the door creaked open. Tone light and slightly drawling, he looked up with a: "About time you-"

He stopped.

Raven stood in the doorway, staring at him with that bland, emotionless stare of his. That wasn't what gave Rusty pause. It was his- outfit.

"Uh, buddy. Your... clothes..." Rusty said very slowly, his gaze fixed on Raven's torso. The moonshine hadn't been that strong, had it? He knew some batches could cause hallucinogenic effects, but Rusty was Rubiconian. It'd take more than one bottle to cause that in him.

Raven looked down and plucked at said clothes, black fabric pinched between gloved fingers.

It looked cheap - the sort you'd find on the rack at a local supermarket on Earth. It was too shiny, and Rusty could see how the fabric had creased horribly from where it had been neatly folded up in its packaging, giving it the look of a crisp packet or something similar. It didn't fit right either - a bit too baggy at the chest, since Raven lacked the assets to fill it, and loose around the hips, since he barely had any. It was long at the knee too, the skirt stopping just shy of an inch above his ankle - not that it showed any skin, as Raven was still wearing his usual steel-capped combat boots, the laces loosely tied up and dangling messily.

After another few seconds of shocked staring, Rusty belatedly realised that Raven was in some fascimile of a maid outfit. The 'sexy' kind, except it was clearly for someone taller and, um, curvier than him, so it negated the 'sexy' and came across as homely instead. Either way, the effect was the same: stunning Rusty into silence.

Raven looked up, his blank expression saying he saw nothing strange about all this. He pulled at the hem of his gloves - his usual ones, black leather with steel stitched over the knuckles - before crossing his arms. The only saving grace was that he was wearing a jacket, unzipped of course, but it just clashed with the whole ensemble.

Weirdly, Rusty couldn't help but be reminded of those animated shows Pater covertly watched in the office when Snail wasn't around: anime? He was pretty sure he saw a character in one of his shows dressed like this, except it had been a female maid armed with an ancient AK-47 shooting zombies, not an AC pilot.

"Um," Rusty tried. After another pause, he cleared his throat and said: "What's with... the outfit?"

Raven just shrugged, and unfolded his arms to shuffle towards the sofa. Rusty just watched as Raven sat down on the other end... and slouched, his legs spreading. Rusty had to fight the urge to lean over and pull the hem of his skirt down from where it hitched up.

Thankfully, it at least revealled he was wearing thick, woollen stockings underneath... Raven wasn't wandering around without any form of pants, thank god.

After a pause, Raven dug into his jacket pocket and typed languidly on his communication's device: "I was told this is customary to wear on 'Maid Day'."

Rusty didn't know where to begin.

"Who- told you that?" Actually, he knew exactly where to begin. "Walter? Did- did Walter put you in that?"

He knew there was something skeevy going on between him and Raven, but to think he was forcing Raven - who had no choice but to obey him, thanks to his indentured servitude - to dress up to satisfy his desires... was he even-!?

"No." Raven gave him an odd look. "It was the men."

"The- men?"

"The men."

Rusty stared. Raven did not elaborate.

just leave it alone, Rusty, a voice that sounded a lot like Uncle muttered, just leave it alone...

He couldn't, though. Once you dumped a mystery, no matter how bizarre or comical, Rusty was compelled to peel it apart and devour it. He had to know what the fuck was up with all this.

"What men?" Rusty pressed. "Do you know how many men are on this planet? You're not narrowing it down."

Raven shrugged again, but he did, thankfully, elaborate this time: "The men Walter hires to maintain my AC. They belong to RaD."

Oh, okay. That makes se- no wait.

"So, those RaD guys put you in that dress?"

"They told me it was traditional."

"Were they wearing maid dresses?"

"Some of them."

Well, at least it wasn't a pack of perverts ganging up on the clearly very attractive yet naive Raven, Rusty thought darkly. Though, they could still be perverts. Did Walter not vet any of his hires? Then again, pickings were slim on Rubicon if you wanted neutral workers that wouldn't rob you blind the moment you had your back turned...

"Is that all they did?"

Raven just looked increasingly confused. "...is there more to this day? Did they forget to do something?"

"No, no, just..." Rusty sighed. "I wanted to make sure they hadn't done anything, uh... like, you know..."

He dithered over his words. Raven blinked guilelessly at him.

"...inappropriate," Rusty finished in a mumble.

Raven made a small noise of acknowledgement. "I see. No, they didn't sexually harrass me or anything like that. Walter would kill them."

"Ah. Um." Well, okay, maybe Raven wasn't as naive as he thought. "Well. Um. Good?"

Raven gave him a somewhat evaluating look. "Do you like it?"

"Ah?"

"The dress."

"Well, it..." Rusty faltered, then decided he needed another bottle of moonshine for this. He fished out two, handing one over to Raven while keeping the other for himself. "They clearly didn't get your size right."

"It is baggy in places."

"Uh, yeah, I noticed."

"Around the chest."

"Yeah..."

"And the hips."

Rusty coughed. "I noticed."

Raven was staring very intently at him at this point, like he was trying to telepathically convey something to him through sheer force of will, yet was coming up against the impenetrable wall that was called 'frustrating obliviousness'.

"It's basically falling off. The zip doesn't go up all the way on the back."

"Really? I can give you my jacket if you need-"

Raven cut him off with a loud, gusty sigh, and took a large swig of his moonshine. Rusty felt like he'd missed something embarrassingly obvious.

For a few moments, nothing but the howling wind could be heard. Rusty frowned as he sipped his own drink, peeking at Raven and his ill-fitting maid outfit and the general weirdness of the whole thing.

These meetings tended to go like this: they'd sit together, share a few drinks, and Raven would ask him rather strange yet innocent questions about perfectly normal things like they were incredibly alien. What was it like going to school? What was his fondest childhood memory? Had he ever pet a cat before? What was it like working in an office?

Rusty vaguely understood that Gen Fours didn't have pleasant lives in this galaxy, but those kind of questions... it made it seem like Raven had never had a normal life at all, not even a childhood. It made him uneasy to think about, but he indulged Raven all the same. He fed him a pack of lies of course, spinning a yarn about his days growing up on one of the Tau Ceti colonies, but Raven ate it up all the same. It seemed harmless, Raven's curiosity and Rusty's blatant lies.

So this? This was outside the norm. Or it could be Rusty overthinking things. It was probably some silly prank the RaD lot pulled on Raven, unaware that the pilot didn't comprehend the concept of 'social shame'. Raven also lacked social skills, and on more than on occasion accidentally said things that sounded inappropriate, but was just him either being too literal, too blunt, or just unaware of the double entrente he came out with. This was likely one of those times.

"They called this a date."

"..." Okay, well. So much for that. "Those RaD guys?"

"Yes."

Rusty lowered his bottle, resting it against his thigh. He stared straight ahead, thinking about the pointed comments of the other Vespers. It was just that, except Raven lacked social awareness. That's all.

"...this is a geographical survey."

"We're in a building drinking illegal moonshine together."

"We're surveying the interior of this building very intently," Rusty continued, not daring to let himself think this was what he was suspecting it to be. He'd told himself, from the first time he and Raven had met face-to-face and fully understanding just how lacking in agency he was, that he wouldn't dare cross a single line with him. Not like that in any case.

"I even pay you," he added belatedly. He could see Raven typing on his communication device in his periphery. "Because this is a mission."

"I assumed it to be pleasure escort pay."

Oh god. Was that what Raven had thought this was the whole time-!?

"But you don't need to pay me anymore," Raven continued while Rusty internally disintegrated out of sheer horrified mortification (and bewilderment that Raven willingly accepted such low payments he was definitely worth a hundred times what Rusty paid for pleasure escorting). "I enjoy our time together. It's mutually enjoyable. So, it's a date now. That's what the men said."

The men knew too much about Rusty and Raven's personal affairs what the fuck.

"It's okay if you're shy. I'll go as slow as you like, Rusty."

Rusty couldn't even say anything in defence of himself, mute with embarrassment and bright red from mortification. Raven turned his body slightly towards him, and gently rested a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry if using the dress as a seduction attempt was too risque for you, though. The men said guys like you would like it, and I trusted their judgement."

The men knew too much about Rusty and Raven's personal affairs what the fuck.

"I... uhhh..." Rusty somehow managed to engage his brain. "Um, like- fine. Okay. That's okay. The dress is good. Okay."

Raven's blank expression gained a minutely baffled edge to it.

Good god he wasn't going to be able to look at anyone in the face after this. Rusty rarely misjudged a social situation, and never did he do so this disastrously. He was going to crawl into STEEL HAZE and not come out for days after this.

"I mean." Rusty forced out a sigh. "I'm- you just took me off guard. I'm. Fine with this. Date. Yup. This is a date now. If that's how we'll roll it, I'm cool with that. Cool, cool."

"Rusty. You do not sound or look cool."

"Totally cool," Rusty said tightly, his face feeling hot enough to fry an egg on it. "As a cucumber."

"It's okay, Rusty. I don't mind you being uncool."

Girl, help.

"I thought I was being slick," he suddenly said, unable to keep up the act(?) any longer. "I had it planned out, that you thought these were missions and we both had plausible deniability about the whole thing. We're not emotionally well-adjusted at all, buddy. We're supposed to be weird about this."

"I know."

"But you turned up in a maid dress."

"It is maid day."

"Why didn't you say anything about me paying you like you're a- a feelings prostitute?"

"Because we're not emotionally well-adjusted."

Rusty had no argument against that. He just admitted it, after all.

"It's okay." Raven patted his arm and then leaned back. "We've communicated now, like the men told me too. Next time, we can progress. I'd like to try hand holding."

"...okay," Rusty said, because what do you say in response to such earnestness? He was still grappling with the realisation that Raven thought he was being paid like a prostitute for the past few months.

Raven nodded, like that was that. "I was hoping you would dress up, though."

"For maid day." Rusty didn't say it as a question.

"You would look cute."

"Cute."

"And attractive. You have the waist and hips for it. In fact, this maid dress could fit you? It would be tight, though."

"Raven."

"Hold on. Let me strip."

"Raven-!"

[sgiandubh]

Spy Wednesday. Treason

Sidenote: Still very late with all this, but decided to keep the pace. Perhaps it is better like this, since this is the slightly haphazard result of scattered thoughts throughout the day and as such, a personal experience of it.

Obviously, powerful bystanders are not happy about Jesus entering Jerusalem at all, especially since this peculiar event coincided with the feast of Passover: 'and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death' (Mark, 14:1 - from Palm Sunday's reading). Just try and imagine the bureaucratic kerfuffle, the whispered speculations, the slow burn alarm building up in those circles. Political unrest, with a twist: local consensus was not enough - Rome had to be persuaded to step in, and it was everything but obvious. About all this, later this week: it is, to me at least, perhaps the most mysterious episode of the New Testament.

Judas Iscariot. Tragically instrumental to this plan, we know it. And treason, coupled with dark alley maneuvering, was the only way to make it happen. Treason: not betrayal or treachery, which are either too vaguely moral or too general - what is about to happen is a political assassination disguised as trial, followed by public torture as punishment.

This year's lectionary brings along a second, slightly alternate POV of the Last Supper, as related by Matthew Levi (my favorite), this time. Matthew, the tax collector, is a man acutely aware of the value of money and he is the only one to give us a very precise quotation of the reward Judas received from Caiaphas' middlemen: 'And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.' (Matthew, 26:15). Again, we have a very telling, albeit approximate, conversion in today's currency. Matthew's Greek text is very vague, in that respect. It speaks about 'silver' (coins), to an audience that immediately understood the value of it. And even if we will never know for sure if those coins were Ptolemaic (Egyptian) or Athenian (Greek) tetradrachms, Tyrian (in today's Lebanon) shekels or Antioch (Greek) staters, we can make a rough evaluation based on their actual weight and purity (isn't it ironic?).

Ready?

In 2024's value (based on the current JP Morgan's quotation of 30 USD/ounce), Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for an something that varies between 97,8 USD (if reward was received in Ptolemaic tetradrachms) to 472,8 USD (if the reward was received in Athenian tetradrachms). The median and geographically more plausible amount being of about 325,5 USD (for Antioch staters) or 380,7 USD (for Tyrian shekels).

I don't know about you, but what sickens me is the complete ludicrousness of this all. Think about what these money could buy in your respective worlds: would you do it?

Rhetorical question, of course. What is at stake, here, is not money. It's Power, in its political, appallingly punitive dimension the Romans called imperium, as opposed to the organic, ethical dimension they called auctoritas (and which we would translate by 'prestige' or 'influence'). With this deal, Judas hopes to save his life, soul be damned. Only to lose both, in complete, endless dishonor.

The day's somber and reflective sounds come from François Couperin's Première leçon de ténèbres pour le Mercredi saint (1714). Couperin was the Sun King's favorite harpsichordist and as such, was commissioned to arrange into music Jeremiah's lamentations, for the Holy Week liturgies of the Longchamp Royal Abbey. In a Baroque universe filled with light and joy and levity, these are the most dejected sounds perhaps ever written:

PS: I will try to catch up tonight. Pinky promise and thank you all for your patience (I never thought you'd like these, but here we are - still, the topic is a very difficult one, don't you think?).

[chloe-caulfield94]

Do you think Rachel Amber is manipulative like some people say?

Rachel is a very interesting character because of her wildly different portrayals in Season 1 and Before the Storm, especially when we look at her from the perspective of her relationship with Chloe. In BtS, she's just as interested in pursuing Chloe romantically as Chloe is interested in her, if not more. Even if Chloe chooses to say at the junkyard that she sees Rachel as a friend, Rachel tells her later under the tree that the thing between them is "intense" and that "maybe she [Chloe] sees it as a friendship", clearly implying that Rachel sees it as something romantic.

However, if we go just by what is shown and said in S1, the dynamic between Rachel and Chloe seems to be that while Chloe was deeply in love with Rachel, Rachel "only" saw Chloe as a best friend (I put the word "only" in quotation marks, because I would never want to imply that platonic love you have for your close friends is something worse than romantic love - it's obviously not, but it is different, or at least it's expressed differently).

While these two portrayals of Rachel are wildly different, it is possible to reconcile them. People change as time goes by. Especially young people can change very fast. Some relationships do not withstand the test of time. So one could imagine the BtS Rachel, who loved Chloe and genuinely dreamed of leaving town with her to begin again somewhere far away, slowly turning into S1 Rachel, who lost her love for Chloe along the way, but didn't bother telling her that, letting Chloe live a dead dream.

While the above interpretation is certainly the more comprehensive one, since it bridges both games without leaving any plot holes or discrepancies and it is realistic (time grinds down everything, sometimes even love - that's a sad reality), I don't follow it personally. I just don't want to.

The thought of someone holding the love and devotion of another person in the palm of their hand but choosing to throw it away is soul-crushing to me. The only thing worse than that is someone holding the love and devotion of another person in the palm of their hand, but not even bothering to throw it away, instead just letting it slowly drip between their fingers, neither reciprocating the feeling nor releasing the person who offered it from the spell the holder has over them.

So I choose to look at BtS Rachel and S1 Rachel as two different persons. Or maybe two wildly different portrayals of the same person, of which it is impossible to say which is the "real" one.

I don't think that BtS Rachel is "manipulative". I think that players who try to portray her as such are missing the point of that character. Just like players who claim that Chloe in S1 is a bad person or that Daniel in S2 is an annoying ingrate miss the point of those characters.

Rachel is not some secret villain. Just like Chloe and Daniel, she's a complex and imperfect character. While she's not the playable character, her relationship with that character is the main axis of the game, just like it is with Chloe and Daniel in their respective games. The point of those characters is that while sometimes relationships can become challenging, it's worth fighting to preserve them. That sometimes people deserve not to be given up on. I think that turning Rachel into some sort of "master manipulator femme fatale seductress" who took advantage of unsuspecting Chloe completely warps and taints the message present in all Life is Strange games - one of empathy and understanding, not of prejudice and condemnation.

I don't think that Rachel not telling Chloe that their escapade to the park had a hidden goal of spying on her father is proof of some wrongdoing on her part. Firstly, she told Chloe the truth. She needed company. Someone to support her. She simply didn't tell a girl she's just met her family's dirtiest secret. I think that hardly makes her dishonest. Secondly, she didn't force Chloe to go with her. Chloe made that choice herself. While Rachel must've had a general idea that Chloe wasn't doing well at school, I don't think she could've predicted that principal Wells would react so harshly. And thirdly, don't you think that if she had told Chloe the real purpose of their trip, Chloe would've been MORE, not less inclined to go with her? Chloe felt drawn to Rachel. She would've grasped at an opportunity to gain Rachel's trust by helping her in an hour of need.

I don't think that Rachel pulling Chloe into the school play was "manipulative" either. You could say it was a stupid prank or that her forcing Chloe to leave her comfort zone was not okay. But Rachel's intentions were not malicious. She wanted Chloe to take part in something she liked, anticipating that Chloe would like it too. And wasn't she right? Chloe crushed it on scene.

And yes, by asking Chloe to investigate Sera, she asked for A LOT. But isn't this what you have friends for? If you're in need of help, who are you going to ask for it? Your family and friends. In this instance, asking family for help was out of the question, for obvious reasons. And I don't think Rachel's preppy friends would be willing or able to help in that regard. Chloe was the only person she could count on. Rachel asked for a lot. Chloe was under no obligation to help her. She didn't owe her anything. But she chose to help, because she cared about Rachel. Asking your friends for help is not a sign of being manipulative. It's a sign of you trusting and needing them.

S1 Rachel most certainly didn't do right by Chloe. But I wouldn't call it being manipulative. Manipulation is a way of getting people to do the things you want them to do. And it's clear that in the months preceding her murder, Rachel wanted very little from Chloe. S1 Rachel hurt Chloe in a different way - by not being honest with her. Rachel didn't owe Chloe her love. She didn't owe Chloe a new start together. But she owed her the truth. Once she realized she no longer wanted to leave town together with Chloe, she should've told her that, instead of letting Chloe live a false hope for a better tomorrow that could never come.

[cupidsdescendant]

Mercs helping with period cramps! (Part 2)

Hiya babes <3! I hope you all are having a happy holiday! If u don’t celebrate Christmas I hope you have a happy whatever-day!💗💗💗💗 thank you for all the support I’ve been getting on my last posts I appreciate it beyond words!

Pyro:

-clueless but considerate

-when he sees you struggling they try to help however he can

-pryo sees the world different from her view so whenever she sees you hurt or bleeding she believes that your period is a real life devil stabbing you

-yes ik it’s sorta weird but this is how I imagine pyros mind handling things

-usually he’ll punch the air as you lay on the floor or chop the wind believing they’re saving you

-you tell them to relax ! Explaining your menstrual cycle yourself to him in the simplest terms

-you give pryo a small list of what you need and he agrees

-he gets all the things you need in the…maybe more violent ways by killing the workers at the market in retaliation or not getting the stuff for free

-you know she loves you tho <3 and he tries his best!

Sniper:

-a respect full lad, but he doesn’t help much

-he doesn’t really know how to and he could care less

-“Dontcha got arms? You can get this yourself, mate” he says as he focuses on his rifle

-instead you insist he gets you things so he can visit you more often and hang out

-Spy him in the head after he saw Sniper ask if he was okay

-“YOU FOOL!” Spy says as he points to snipers chest and pushes him back a little

-“What the bloody hell is wrong with you, mate?!!” He says in retaliation

-spy gives him a lecture about being considerate to a woman and respectful blah blah and sniper reluctantly agrees

-Sniper legit tries but never gets the hang of it, he helps out in all sorta ways but it’ll always be wrong

-Months go by like this and Sniper always dreads when it’s your cycle because he feels bad he can never be the best for you

-“I can shoot at attah things” Sniper says as he shoots off the head of a Scout “but I cant finish the shot at this thing, doc.”

-Sniper begged Medic to come up to his camper to talk about it, reluctantly Medic listens

-Medic also teaches him how to be proper (spy also helps too lol) but after hours and days of training it’s no use

-Sniper will always tell you how much he loves you when he messes up at it and that he’ll try again next time, so rlly it’s the thought that counts <3

Engineer:

-Engi is already a sweet man and he’s even sweeter when you’re on your cycle

-he understands despite not having any experience with it before and he’s a wonderful listener

-he gets you everything you need no matter what, he gets them quickly!

-Engi will try to make devices to stop your cycle (all of them failing) but when you’re in bed with cramps he’ll sketch and write about a new design

-“it’s okay, pumpkin. This one will work I have a good feeling-!” He says as he kisses your cheek

-he feeds you southern dishes and foods in bed <33

-“uh ahuh-..uhm hello, darling..” Engi says nervously, he’s sweating like crazy and his entire face is red

-“yes Engi? Is something a matter?”

-“well..you see I have an ..idea for uhm..an “invention” he says with quotation marks “well it’s been done-e. befor-e.. but uh i’d like to customize it to fit you-..so I would-..l-like some measurem-ents…”

-“oh of course! What do ya need measured” Y/N says back with a warm smile

-“Uhm. I would need to-..measure your uh.. “ he clears his throat and whispers

“Your hoo-ha-“

“HE MEANS YA PUSSY!” Scout screams out as he laughs as a shook Engi

“WILL YOU GET OUT BOY!” Engi angrily yells back with

-You find out that Engineer wanted to measure your uh..yeah..so then he could make you a custom period cup

-you agree and in the end he makes it and gives it to you in a little bag with a bow

-“I’m very sorry, pumpkin. I should’ve been a lot more ..uh..better with the way I acted.”

-you kiss Engi on the cheek “it’s okay you didn’t do anything wrong. Thank you, hon”

Welp that’s all folks ! It’s currently 2:22 (make a wish <3) and I would love to sleep now from a long day. I hope you all stay safe and have a good day! Mwah! XOXOXO (part 3 will be out soon!)

[physically-lustful-spy]

"Alone in my lonesome chamber, yet again. Not a soul to keep me company.

…But it's alright, hrr, I've grown used to it.

...However,"

lazily running his finger along the edge of the glass in front of him "..."

" 'Oh but Spy, eternal life must be wonderful'-" While speaking, he makes exaggerated quotation marks in the air.

"- It's only natural you'd think that."

"A bunch of idiotic, mortal fools. They will never comprehend the basic concept of infinity, will they...?

Foolish," he clutches his fists "truly foolish..."

"And they say I'm 'heartless'! Phi, let me tell you something, you worthless, pitiful bits of dirt -

Should you be in my position,

You wouldn't be any different."

"How does one maintain their sanity while everyone is working together to bring it down?

How does one keep on blooming in such a ...withering reality?

He spits those words out They don't. I'll paraphrase the question -

What defines a 'monster'?

I am not different from any of you. And yet somehow, somehow,

When you bear your fangs, you're praised, applauded -

From me they run.

When you defend yourself, it's glorious -

When I do, I'm damned, compared to those... bloodthirsty, ferocious, predatory animals.

'It is human to have enough'

Correct - unless it's for someone that doesn't fit your criteria for 'human'.

Infinity in this place being the roughest curse I bear, I sometimes wish there was something ending it all. A factor, per se.

Light wouldn't exist without darkness.

Life doesn't exist without death.

I'm helpless. I'm bound. They will never be able to properly comprehend any of it, and I will never be free.

I need to feed.

It isn't my fault.

I'll starve if I don't - oh no, wait, what's this? I can't!

There is no ending to my pain!

This sickening jail you built for yourself, you immoral little humans, damaged contributors to this so-called renewed society, will-

Will-..."

He suddenly goes quiet, scoffing, leaning back on his chair

"Why do I even bother."

[juneandnick]

Season 5 - Interviews (Bruce Miller about Osblaine)

Quotations.

For Deadline

I feel like season 5 is the most romantic Nick/June season that there has ever been. The last thing she says is to Mark: “Make sure you tell him that we are okay”. When she says: “We are okay”. She means the rest of his family. 

For TV Insider

She absolutely is hopelessly in love with both of them but she cannot dispense with either one. She is absolutely split and for her these two different men complete her.

For Entertainment Weekly

I love all the romantic things that Nick does. He comes to see her, gives away his whole future and basically his allegiance to his country, just to be able to see her when she is not even awake. So it feels like such a romantic thing.

Parenthesis.

For Digital Spy

Now our intimacy coordinators, who we did not have at the beginning. But oh my God, these guys – we do not show sex scenes unless you will learn something in them that you would not know otherwise, that there is no real way to explain.

I will give my point of view for this last part. So they hired intimacy coordinators for the sex scene with June and Luke in S5E04. It just proves you can have professionnel on the set, they cannot make miracles. 😂

By the way, you can read the full interviews by clicking on the media names in bold.

[shinmiyovvi]

Alright, decided to color her and I think I'm going to really introduce my self-insert oc "Shin" 💖💖💖 I'll make her ref sheet and proper oc information soon.

Now, why are there quotation marks on her name? Shin isn't her real name, but rather a nickname that was given by her family. She is quite reserved about revealing her information and background until they earned her trust. She is a spy that was sent to Northern France to gain intel from Group 935's technology until she ended up teaming with the Primis crew. Being the youngest (and shortest *sad 5"2 noises*), she was called "Little Girl"/"Lil' mushroom"/"Small smarty pants" by the crew.

Wish I could tell more but that would be on her proper oc information soon 🤭💖

[wardenred]

Sapphic September 15: Vacation

More "idk what this is" freewriting? More freewriting.

The summer weeks by the sea are long and languid, blurring together into an endless string of future memories Shara will treasure forever. She and Zoey spend their days exploring the island. Sometimes, they climb the trees and laugh together like little kids while the birds and the butterflies live their floating lives around them. Sometimes, in that small harbor nobody else visits, Zoey slips a finger under the string of Shara's swimsuit, and Shara tilts up her face to catch Zoey's lips, and then it's nothing but heat and tenderness while the waves lap at their toes.

This is the perfect escape, a place where nobody knows their names—or is excellent at pretending like they don't. The tropical fruit are sweet, the live music in the resort's restaurant sounds like it was written for them, and their rooms are stocked with board games as well as champagne.

They hardly spend more than half an hour a day apart, always entwined, always talking. They talk about all the things, except for the one they came here to discuss.

So Shara tries to bring it up at last, because summer isn't going to last forever and she can't handle the growing undercurrent of anxiety. 

"I should finally tell you," she says, out of the blue, on the sunniest of morning. They've just woken up—or, well, Shara just has. Zoey is sitting cross-legged on top of the rumpled covers, her hands traveling lightly over Shara's knee. On the night table, there's a tray with fruit slices and glasses of ice juice.

Zoey's soft morning smile never dims. "Hm? Tell me what exactly?"

Shara draws a breath. "Well, we've come here to talk about certain things, remember? The—" she pauses to make quotation marks with her fingers "—'oddities.' Standing in the way. Of us."

This is more difficult than it should be, and less of a torture than she probably deserves.

"Oh." Zoey's smile only grows wider. "That. If you want, sure, let's, but I already know."

Shara stares at her, forgetting to blink or exhale. "What do you know?" she asks, cautiously.

"Why, that you're a spy, of course." She's rubbing circles over Shara's knee, gentle and casual. "That you joined my company with the intention of ruining it. I know who you work for. I know at what point you started feeding them lies. I know you escaped their employ, and I know what it cost you, and I know how afraid you are now. I know that you love me, and that I love you, and that what we have is real." She shakes her head slightly, leaning forward. "I do wish you told me earlier. I would have helped. In case you're wondering, now, I'm definitely helping, whether you want that or not. The city should be a lot safer for you by the time we come back."

Shara wouldn't be able to respond even if she had the word. This is... But... She thought...

"Never be afraid to tell me the truth, honey," Zoey advices, bending lower to plant a kiss on her gaping lips. "Now, a peach?"

[eyesoverinfinity]

Cooking show au l4d2

Episode 1: A pizza the action

The intro plays, it is a Introduction to all 8 of the hosts of this show: Zoey, Louis, Francis, Bill, Ellis, Nick, Rochelle and Coach.

Then the logo appears:

The logo dissipates to revel the camera zooming in on the hosts, as pre-recorded clapping plays.

The area looks to be a large kitchen, with ovens, sinks, cupboards and more. The most prominent feature is the eight cooking tables that the hosts are all in front of.

Louis steps forward.

Louis: Welcome to 8 in the kitchen! The show were we make food and may regret it later! Today Nick has the chef hat, so like last season, He'll be guiding us on todays ''dish".

Louis makes quotation marks when he says dish. A canned laugh plays.

Nick walks up to where Louis is standing.

Louis: So Nick, what are we making today?

Nick: Well Louis:

Nick walks off the stage and pulls in a white board with a pizza drawing filling the whole board.

Nick: As most long time viewers of this show know, my family are Italian immigrants, so today I'm going back to my roots. We're making pizza!

Francis and Zoey put up their hands.

Nick: You first Francis.

Francis: Can we put pineapple on it?

Nick: Get the apron of shame Francis.

Francis looks disappointed and sulks off.

Nick: and Zoey?

Zoey: how about peanut butter?

Nick: A peanut butter and jelly pizza? Well it's not what I had in mind but-

Zoey: no, with ham and cheese. The peanut butter replaces the tomato paste.

Everyone looks at Zoey in silent horror, Bill just shakes his head.

Nick: Francis, come back! Zoey's taking your place!

Francis runs back with glee and shoves an apron into Zoey's hands. It says "I have cleaning duty."

Zoey unhappily puts it on. Muttering that it's not her fault that she's a college student.

Nick: with that out of the way, Here's our game plan!

A sheet of blueprint paper rolls over the camera to show the transit to the 'game plan' screen, an animated section of the show where the steps that are going to be taken are animated while the head chief explains them.

Nick: First the ingredients, originally I was going to take suggestions, but after what happened with Zoey and Francis that's a hard no.

The blue print gets mushrooms, basil and other possible pizza ingredients drawn on it. Chibi versions of Zoey and Francis are drawn and crossed out.

Nick: So we're making margherita.

Most of the ingredients are crossed out and wiped away. Basil, Bocconcini, and tomatoes are left.

Nick: The amount of ingredients we need is a lot. Luckily I thought head of time and hired a few trucks-

Rochelle: Sweet Jesus!

The camera zooms out to show chibi versions of the hosts huddled around the blueprint in what looks to be a sci-fi spy base mixed with a kitchen.

Rochelle: Nick how many pizza's are we making?!

Chibi Nick smiles evilly.

Nick: oh, just one.

The other chibi's look to each other in fear, only chibi Rochelle truly grasps the shear size of what is about to happen. The camera zooms back into the blue print.

Nick: As I was saying, I hired a few trucks for the ingredients. To make it easier I ordered pre-made dough as well so this episode will air sometime this year.

The trucks are drawn, each one with a picture of a different ingredient. Then the camera zooms out to the chibis.

Nick: We'll need to roll all of the dough, put on the sauce and ingredients and cook it in an oven. But once it's made it'll be impossible for us to move, we need to make it inside the oven.

Bill: By god's name this is the first episode!

Coach: Boy, what kind of madman has an oven that big?

Zoey: We'd be better of setting a building on fire!

Ellis: In that case, I know a guy!

Everyone turns to chibi Ellis, the screen goes black.

A new Chibi man appears after the cut, he is not one of the hosts, but is standing next to Chibi Ellis with a mischief in his eyes and scars all over his skin.

?: Howdy everyone! You can call me Keith!

The camera cut's to the real people, Keith's scars are far more severe than his chibi's was and he is far taller than Ellis.

Keith: So, what can I do for ya'll?

Ellis: Ya know that shed you were gonna get rid of?

Keith: Yeah?

Ellis: Well I was thinking that we could set it on fire and use it to cook a giant pizza!

Keith: You want me to burn down my shed for pizza?!

Ellis: Keith, you'd burn down your shed for fun!

There is a pause.

Keith: You son of a bitch I'm in.

The camera cuts from outside of the shed to its inside. Nick's voice plays over a speed up time-lapse of the crew cleaning the floor with other people.

Nick: The floor is being sterilised because the tables would melt/burn inside the shed fire if we had them in there. But you guys don't need to see that.....

Nick: Expect for this bit.

The time lapse slows to normal speed to show Francis slip on a bar of soap and fall into Rochelle's arms. They stay like that for thirty seconds blushing and Louis takes a photo.

Nick: Now, on with the show.

Trucks are lined up outside the shed and unloading the ingredients. Passers by are taking photos are taking photos of the commotion. The hosts are in a team huddle.

Nick: Ok, we are going to need to put all of our force into rolling the dough into one pizza base, it doesn't have to be round. it just needs be whole. After we get the base rolled out we need to tackle rest of the pizza.

Rochelle: What are we going to use to spread the tomato paste? Brooms?

Nick: No that'd be ridiculous, I ordered giant spoons.

Bill: I thought we got rid of those after the cake incident with Chell last season.

Nick: Yeah well, times change. After we get the paste on evenly we get the toppings on. Me, Ellis, Rochelle and Coach will take the bocconcini. While Zoey, Louis, Bill and Francis will be in charge of the basil. Now, lets do this!

The hosts break the huddle and get to work. Montage music begins to play.

The montage shows the hosts working together to roll the pizza dough, try to lift the giant spoons, stop Coach from eating the toppings and use mission impossible style ropes to put the toppings on.

The hosts look at their creation after the montage. They can't enter the shed anymore, the pizza has overtaken it all. Nick closes the wooden shed door.

Nick: So, who's going to do the honours?

Keith: Hey guys I got a light-

Keith trips and the lighter sets fire to the shed instantly.

Nick: That works.

The hosts and Keith watch the flames, the fire department on speed dial, as people on the road cheer.

Nick: Judging by the heat of the fire, the pizza should be ready in about 2 minutes.

Keith: Nice! so how are we going to put it out without using water?

The hosts say nothing

Zoey: We're, um, not?

Louis: We were going to let it burn to the ground.

Keith: Why?!

Nick: It adds to the flavour.

Coach: and we're not letting a pizza that we spent 50 hours on be sprayed with water if we can help it.

Keith: and Dave says I'M crazy.

Ellis: I don't see a problem.

Francis: I don't Either.

Keith: Dear god, how did I become the voice of reason?

Bill: nah kid, we're messing with you. We don't really think that the pizza's going to be edible after this.

Keith frowns as the hosts laugh.

Keith: I don't know whether to be thankful or pissed.

Ellis: Sorry Keith, but the look on your face was hilarious.

Rochelle: lets be real though. it's not like the sheds going to poof into ash, blow away and leave a perfectly cooked pizza.

The shed poofs into ash, blows away and leaves a perfectly cooked pizza. A pause of disbelief.

Keith: Guess we're all idiots then?

Zoey: yeah, lets go with that.

Bill: So, what do we do with this pizza?

Nick: I don't know, I didn't think we'd get this far.

Coach: Well I for one am not going to let a perfectly good pizza go to waste!

Rochelle: Hate to break it to you Coach, but I don't think we'll be able to eat all that by ourselves.

Coach: Who says we have to, we have a whole crowd here.

Keith: Great! I'll call them over!

Louis: I think we should organise a line fir-

Keith: HEY GUYS, FREE PIZZA! COME OVER!

The hosts: KEITH NO!

The camera is knocked over in the pursuing stampede of people as the hosts run for cover.

The camera cuts to the hosts back in the kitchen. Ellis has an arm in a sling and everyone has a bruise of some sort, but they are otherwise alright.

Nick: Thanks for watching the show everyone, next time, we'll do a recipe indoors.

Rochelle: We'd normally thank our guest for being here, but Keith is in hospital with a broken ribcage and fractured shoulder.

Zoey: and frankly, He's lucky Ellis convinced our boss against suing.

Rochelle: So that's not happing.

Louis: We'll see you all next time.

Everyone: Bye!

The theme song plays and the credits roll. a post credit scene shows the burned down shed and pizza leftover, with a professional clean up crew working on it. White text comes up that says:

"We are not making Zoey clean that up."

[askgrowlhoneyslice]

Growl Honeyslice is a 27 year old cat critter. In this au, he is one of the initial Frowning Friends along with Grim and Gnarly. He is dating Gnarly while also being enemies with Grim.

He was a spy for them, meaning up until the company moved in, he spied on Pim and Charlie while they worked, watching what they were doing and trying to gather secrets.

He also saved Grim and Gnarly from dying (though barely with Grim, who survived due to an emergency surgery.) from the Renaissance Men, and since then, Growl and Gnarly has left the Frowning Friends, not wanting anything to do with Grim and his bigotry. Grim, however, as he heals, grows a deep thirst for revenge.

------

Some rules and things to know before following:

NO NSFW RELATED QUESTIONS. The majority of people who follow me are minors, and plus I don't feel comfortable making NSFW content.

Read my main's (@sylveonsawtrap) DNI before following. I will not be answering questions regarding my DNI for both my followers and I's sake. Also, don't follow if anything regarding oc x canon makes you uncomfortable.

Most of what Growl says about a character may not be canon (especially if the character doesn't canonically have much information about them, ex. Grim, Gnarly, Shrimp, etc.) and is part of an oc x canon au. I'm going to have a tag for this (#//au lore) just in case that makes anyone uncomfortable.

Don't send angry asks/messages to this blog please. If something here makes you upset, please just block. I do not have the mental energy to engage in such conversations.

It may take me a while to post and answer asks due to having a busy personal life.

Anything Growl says in a post is in quotation marks along with having bolded text. "Like this for example."

The only character answering anything on this blog is going to be Growl. I most likely will not be playing as any other character for the time being.

[galactia]

Kaeya doesn’t remember his father fondly. He doesn’t want him back, or idolize him, or call him anything but actually what he is - a man who abandoned him on the side of a road, after filling his head full of sorrowful stories about a five-hundred-year-old hopeless cause. As ‘grieving as a smoking ash pile’; ‘father’, in quotation marks. That is what his biological father is to him. 

Kaeya isn’t ashamed of his heritage, by any means, at least in a private sense. He doesn’t want to erase what is Khaenri'ah about himself. He was only a child when he was left to decide what to do with the mission the man who was supposed to raise and love and guide him left him with. It was easy to let a golden childhood drown out the guilt and questions and anxiety. The older he was, the more aware he became of exactly what he was meant to do; what all of the stories and lessons and history he was told was supposed to help him do. 

And what was he supposed to do? Still be loyal to a cause the man who discarded gave him? His clearest memory of his father is from the night he left him - “I’m sorry, Kaeya.” he said, as his cloak slipped away and left Kaeya standing in the rain, with nothing but the clothes on his back. 

A child spy. A child. How dare him. 

Kaeya may not ascribe to the faith of any gods, or think the Ordo is all virtue and glory as people think, but his loyalty is to Diluc, and Jean, and the people in Mond. The orphans and the old and those just trying to live their lives and forge their paths. That’s what he wants to do, after all. 

If tomorrow his father showed up at his doorstep and told him it was ‘time’, he would tell him fuck off. He isn’t going to get innocent, good people caught in the crossfire. He isn’t going to betray his brother, for anyone.

[kudosmyhero]

Transformers (vol. 1) #4: The Last Stand

Read Date: January 27, 2023 Cover Date: March 1985 ● Writer: Jim Salicrup ● Penciler: Frank Springer ● Inker: Ian Akin ◦ Brian Garvey ● Colorist: Nel Yomtov ● Letterer: John Workman ● Editor: Bob Budiansky ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● everyone's pissed that Sparkplug Witwicky created a fuel source for the Decepticons. his life was being threatened! besides, even money that he managed to sabotage it somehow ● looks like Jazz accidentally injures Sparkplug while trying to stop him from running off ● is O in a bar? Ah, it’s his dad’s. Heh, I love how everyone calls him “O,” complete with quotation marks ● Korean War flashback time ● MASH 4067, eh? hello, one-digit-off-being-a-pure-easter-egg. I see you! ● 15 minutes of artillery being thrown at Megatron. here's his response when the smoke clears:

● damaged Decepticons: Frenzy, Rumble, Skywarp, and Soundwave. ● aaand Starscream, because he got a taste of Megatron's fusion cannon when he spoke against him (don’t ever change, Starscream 😂) ● another Cybertronic lifeform detected in Antartica ● flashback of Shockwave traipsing among the dinosaurs ● wow, Ka-Zar gets a mention! wasn't expecting that ● Shockwave's power second only to Megatron's ● Dinobots: Snarl (stegosaurus), Grimlock (t-rex), Swoop (pterodactyl), Sludge (brontosaurus?), Slag (triceratops) ● the Dinobots used the shuttlecraft to… wherever they are… to confront and destroy Shockwave ● Ravage spies on the Autobots and reports back that the Autobots are low on fuel ● Tubes of Transference? ● Yay for helpful text: The tubes of transference drain what little fuel remains in one group of Autobots to re-energize Optimus Prime, Huffer, Ironhide, Bluestreak, and Mirage. ● poor li'l drone ● Sparkplug still dreaming of Korea as he recovers from his heart attack ● things not looking good for Autobots ● ah, yup. Sparkplug gave the Decepticons corrosive fuel ● Shockwave! (he's bigger than I thought!) ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: With the revelation that Sparkplug helped the Decepticons come up with the means of converting Earth's fuels into that a Cybertronian would need to live off of, the Autobots and Buster are demoralized this news. Before Sparkplug can explain Huffer loses his temper leading to a quarrel among the other Autobots. Finding the situation too crazy, Sparkplug grabs Buster and makes a run for it. When the Autobots realize it, Jazz attempts to stop Sparkplug but putting a path of flame in their way with his napalm gun. This sudden action startles Sparkplug to the point where he has a heart attack. Needing immediate medical attention Ratchet transforms into his ambulance mode and loads up Sparkplug and Buster to rush off to the nearest hospital. As Sparkplug lapses into unconsciousness, he dreams about his time in Korea. In this dream, he recollects the time that he was taken as a POW by the Korean army and forced to use his mechanical skill to fix the enemies vehicles. Ratchet gets Sparkplug to the hospital in record time and he is taken to an operating room right away Meanwhile, at the military blockade in front of the Decepticons base, Megatron goes outside to mock the soldiers by allowing them to fire at him and laugh in their faces when they cause no damage. Returning inside he finds that the repairs on the other Decepticons is going well. Starscream tries Megatron's patience by questioning his leadership leading Megatron to angrily blast his insubordinate second in command. Megatron then sends Ravage to go spy on the Autobots and report back their condition. Aboard the Ark, Huffer shows Optimus Prime computer records that their computer collected over the four billion years they were inert. It tells them that five other Autobots, Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop; were reactivated on prehistoric Earth and converted into being able to transform into Earth's Dinosaurs to deal with the arrival of the Decepticon Shockwave, who had just arrived on the planet. The records are incomplete and do no explain what happens as the monitoring probe was destroyed before it could record the conclusion of their battle. Curious, Optimus Prime orders a probe to be sent out and investigate what might have happened. With their fuel supply dwindling Optimus Prime orders his Autobots to prepare for the final battle. With this information, Ravage returns to Decepticon headquarters where Megatron orders a full-scale assault of the Ark. While back aboard the Autobot ship, in order to conserve energy all the Autobots go into status except for Mirage, Bluestreak, Ironhide, Huffer and Optimus Prime who all borrow fuel from their comrades to be a full fighting power. Suddenly the Decepticons burst into the Ark with lasers blasting and the Autobots and Decepticons clash. Meanwhile, the probe arrives in the Savage Land where it uncovers one of the robots buried there four million years ago. While back in the city, Ratchet is mistaken as a real ambulance and is taken out on various emergencies, and while Sparkplug goes under surgery he continues his dream. In this dream, he recollects how even though he was forced to fix the Korean army's vehicles in the war, he made a point to sabotage the vehicles to cause accidents that killed his captors. As the battle between the Autobots and Decepticon rages on within the Ark, the Decepticons begin to gain the upper hand. Megatron is about to destroy Optimus Prime when all the Decepticons begin to keel over in pain. They realize that the fuel they had been given had been tainted and they are summarily deactivated. With this unexpected victory, Optimus Prime thanks all his fellow Autobots for the battle that they fought when suddenly a laser blast rips through the base destroying them all. The blast is fired by Shockwave, who was reactivated by the probe, he announces that the Autobots are no more. (https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Transformers_Vol_1_4)

Fan Art: Best of Megatron IDW by LivioRamondelli

Accompanying Podcasts: ● Transformers Chronicles - episode 06

[antigen5-blog]

I often go looking through thrift stores and antique shops looking for unusual boxes to act as cases for some of my instrument projects and at one I found a strange wooden box that someone had carved "JANET" into the lid. The possibility of making some instrument named Janet seemed entertaining to me, so I bought it. (Inside, there were more carvings: "A.D.P -Hostess Snowball Queen" This was followed by a smiley face also carved into the inside of the lid, and the "A.D.P." had quotation marks carved around it.) But what would be sufficiently worthy to be named Janet? Eventually I found the perfect subject: while playing around with a spy-gadget themed voice changer toy I stumbled into a bend that caused it to feedback on itself and create these really interesting ripples of sound, and some stuff to further modify that, like some gnarly distortion.) So I mounted the guts of the spy gadget toy into the wooden box and Janet was born. On the back there's two 1/4" audio jacks-- an input (what was the microphone of the original toy) and an output (what was the speaker) The knob on the left is basically how much of the 'voice changer' effect is dialed in, and the knob on the right is basically a volume knob for the input so you can dial in the intensity of either the actual input (if you have one) or the feedback if just using the feedback loop. The switch on the left above the "JANET" is sort of an overall on/off switch, and the switch to the right toggles on/off the feedback loop. Various body contact points let you modify the sound a bit more in ways that are hard to describe and I don't fully remember... like adding some buzzy distortion-like effects or causing the loop to 'reset' a bit to shake up the rippling pattern sound of the loop. One of these is in the form of a sort of switch mechanism where you can push a metal spring bar down to connect it to another metal contact. (I'll be totally honestly I don't remember at this point which metal contact bits do what anymore...) One last quirk of the design of Janet is there's a little hole in between the two knobs-- this is where I initially attempted to mount one of the switches, but the switch completely broke apart and the threading is still stuck there. I considered maybe mounting an optical sensor under the hole to give it a point, but ultimately decided against it (I don't like the unpredictability of those) so it's now just a weird little mystery hole and I feel like that's perfect for the little weirdo that is Janet. Anyway time for some audio clip demonstrations! This first audio clip just shows the voice changer effect on an input sound (A voice saying the letter "W" from a different toy I plugged in) As I turn up the left (effect) knob, it makes the sound higher pitched and more distorted. (You'll also note there's a sort of steady passive background tone always on with Janet for some reason...)

But this next clip is much more interesting, showing off what really makes Janet shine-- the feedback loop. Later on in the clip I also start using the various body contact points to show some of the effects that can have. WARNING: it gets pretty loud and noisy af near the end!

So yeah-- she's capable of making some hypnotizing synthy rippling to some absolutely filthy noisy drones. After building Janet I showed it to a sound designer I knew and let him play around with it, and upon discovering some of the noisier sounds, said "Oh my... Janet, you're a dirty girl." That seems like as good of a way as any to wrap up this post on probably my favorite still-surviving circuit-bent toy creation.

[feycharm]

@thegoldendemon​​ asked:  ❛  were you … spying on me ?  ❜  (  dialogue meme — a.  )

      ❛ Yes! Wait, was I not supposed to say anything? ❜ No. Yes? Had Xayah said something about ‘being subtle’ when you are following people? He hadn’t been paying attention, of course. He had been watching her, with her maps and things. He preferred the brightly-colored ones, with painted forests and mountains that Xayah always said were made for tourists. Her nails had been dark red against the beige of the parchment. He remembers that he’d liked the color particularly well.

     ...what was he doing, again? Oh yes. He was supposed to find out if this stranger was connected to the other bad guys.

      ❛ Do you know the man with knives on his hands? ❜ He asks, semi-distracted as he steps from one stone to another, around Jhin in a circle, feet never touching the cracks in the cobblestone, ❛ The... shadow man. I forgot his name. ❜

[annyllel]

Hey, Savelle, what in the world are you doing all the way over in Lanayru, pal? Looking for a new set of rumors?

...Wait... Savelle is always mounted or at least with his horse by his side. This guy has no mount. He’s phonier than a rupoor!